


Brother

by The_Forgotten_Nobody



Category: Everybody's Talking About Jamie - Dan Gillespie Sells/Tom MacRae
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other, coming-out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 12:18:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16387580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Forgotten_Nobody/pseuds/The_Forgotten_Nobody
Summary: “M-my name’s Daniel, Dan, and I’m, uh, I’m-I’m your brother.  Um, half-brother.”





	Brother

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this story in the works for months and finally, after actually drunkenly coming out to most of my family this weekend, finished it. This ended up going through a little rewrite just because I could now base this a bit off how my experience went, especially as my own brother was amazing.

This was the craziest thing Daniel had ever done.  The stupidest too, probably.  Okay, so that much not have been saying much since second to this was that time when he was eight and he ate some bugs and chugged a bottle of mountain dew X because his cousin told him it’d give him superpowers like Spiderman, but still.  He figured booking a ticket to London to go see the half-brother you hadn’t known existed until a day or so ago after sneaking into his drag-show with only your partner knowing where you were and holding only enough money for a sandwich ranked pretty high on anyone’s list. 

Now all he needed was the courage to knock on the door he’d seen Mimi Me walk through before someone found him and, if he was lucky, just kicked him out instead of calling the police.

 Dan thought he might throw up.

_Just knock.  Just raise your fist, pull it back, then shove it forward a couple of times.  You’ve come too far to screw up now._

In the end, it was the echoing sound of footsteps that got Dan knocking on the door, the first few timid but the last almost bangs as he convinced himself he was going to get caught.  It was only when the sound of the footsteps disappeared and an irritated voice called out, ‘ _Gimme a second_ ’ that he realised just what he’d committed to. 

In a brief attempt to at least _look_ confident, Dan puffed out his chest, but it deflated almost instantly when the door opened.  No, instead he just stood there dumbly as he wrapped his head around the fact that the half-dragged up guy in front of him was his _brother_.

“You look a little young to be here, do I know you?”

His voice, though not as high as his drag character, was still higher than Dan expected but his hair was similar to Dan’s.  His was more a platinum blonde though whereas Dan’s what was his mum called ‘strawberry blonde’.  Perhaps what was most intimidating was the fact that even out of heels, he stood a good foot taller than Dan.

He was still waiting for his growth spurt, okay?

“M-my name’s Daniel, Dan, and I’m, uh, I’m-” _Use your words, Dan,_ “I’m your brother.  Um, half-brother.”

His brother-Jamie, Jamie looked at him for a few seconds, his eyes scanning Dan in a way that made him shrink into his hoody before they softened.  He took a step back.

“Why don’t you wait in here while I get changed, I won’t be long.”

“Um I, yeah, okay.”

Well, this was already starting off better than Dan had anticipated.  He had half expected Jamie to just laugh in his face and slam the door shut.    

“You don’t want to, um, confirm it or something?”  He asked while Jamie pulled on a t-shirt.

Jamie shook his head and gave Dan a little smile.  “You may not quite look like I did when I was younger but you’ve got the Lander eyes.  Plus, I recognise that hoody.  Dad passed it onto you then, did he?”

Dan’s eyes automatically flicked down to the hoody.  He’d had it so long, he’d forgotten it had once been his dad’s. 

“Uh, yeah.”  Dan’s eyes darted around the small changing room, while Jamie ran a wipe over his face.  “I didn’t know you existed,” he ended up blurting out when the silence, which had probably been barely a minute, felt like it had lasted an eternity.

Jamie finished wiping the make-up off his neck and glanced over his shoulder.  Thankfully, he didn’t look like he was going to laugh, nor did he look angry.  In fact, he just looked resigned before masking it with a neutral expression.

“I’m not surprised,” he said lightly.  “Dad didn’t…well, I guess you figure out why he wants to pretend I don’t exist.”

His own bitterness returning, Dan muttered, “Yeah.” 

“I don’t blame you for not…well, for anything.  I could have looked for you but I…I thought you’d be okay so I decided not to.”  Now he looked upset and that was really not what Dan was going for at all.

“It’s fine,” he was quick to say.  “I didn’t…it’s not like I expected you to or anything.”  The thought hadn’t even crossed his mind, in fact.  “I mean, I guess dad wouldn’t have told you where we were and mum well, she only told me when I asked and even then, she didn’t know everything.”

“I’m guessing something happened then?” Jamie asked softly.

Thinking back to the previous afternoon, Dan can’t stop the frown nor the burning behind his eyes.  Thankfully, this time, no tears fall.  He’s pretty sure he spent them all when he’d had Alex’s arms wrapped around him.

“Yeah, I, uh…”

“We can talk about it later.  Do your parents know where you are?”

“They think I’m at a friend’s house,” Dan admitted.  “This was kinda…spontaneous.”

“No kidding,” Jamie grinned.  “Well, it’s late.  Can’t have you off on your own around London.  Are you alright to come back to my house?  We can have a chat there and you’re free to spend the night if you haven’t got anywhere else booked.”

“Uh, no, I don’t.  I didn’t really plan this very well.”

“Then you’re definitely staying the night!  Just so you know, I live with my fiancé, Peter, but he’ll be off to bed soon.  If you’re lucky, he might bake something tomorrow morning.  He stress bakes you see and no offence to you, but I think you might be brownie worthy.”

“Oh…no offence taken?  And thanks.”

“It’s no problem,” Jamie said absently as he picked up his bag.  “Right, ready to go? Follow behind me in case we come across someone…speaking of, you’re sixteen, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

Jamie shook his head.  “I keep saying we need some new bouncers,” he said mildly.  “Oh well, just put your hood up.  My cars out the back.  Should be clear but there might be some little rats hanging about who’ll snap a picture and only ask questions once they’re already printed.”

Dan’s face heated at the implication and hurried to comply, following Jamie through the maze of narrow corridors until they reached the car park.  Thankfully, there were no sudden bright lights and he slid into the passenger seat with relief.  While Jamie texted Peter to let him know about Dan’s invitation, he remembered he was supposed to have texted Alex.

“Oh shit,” he muttered, digging out his phone from his backpack.  As expected, he had a litany of texts waiting for him.

**So???**

**Dan???**

**Don’t leave me in suspense???**

**Okay seriously Dan**

**You didn’t put your phone in your back pocket did you**

**YOU FORGOT THE VIBRATING BUTT RULE**

**Okay Dan seriously if you don’t reply soon I’m just gonna assume you’ve been murdered**

**Don’t be murdered**

**I like you**

**And your butt**

**DAN???**

**Reply or I’m gonna call the police**

**Or your parents**

**Don’t make me call your parents**

Thankfully, the last text had only come through a minute ago and Dan swiftly replied before Alex could make good on their threat.

**_Sorry.  All good.  Jamie’s taking me back to his place_ **

Barely a second later he got a reply.

**FINALLY**

**So he’s nice then???**

**He’s not gonna murder you???**

Dan let out a small laugh and Jamie glanced at him as he started the car. 

“My partner, Alex,” Dan explained.  “They’re just checking you’re not gonna murder me.”

Jamie laughed.  “Out of curiosity, what was your plan if I _had_ been?” 

“…Run?”

Jamie paused.  “Well…can’t argue that that’s probably a better reaction than I might have had at your age.  Still, I’m giving you some self-defence lessons.  Also, maybe next time you should bring someone else?”

“Alex is the only one who knows and they’re grounded,” Dan admitted.  “They snuck out last night to come ‘round mine and their mum found out.  Couldn’t risk their mum finding out they’d gone and her telling mine.  We compromised with me promising to reply to all their texts…I might have left a little long.”

“Ah, young love,” Jamie said, grinning, and though his cheeks flushed, Dan couldn’t help the grin that crept onto his own face.  Unbeknownst to Jamie, that previous night had been when they confessed they loved each other.  Bringing his attention back to said partner, Dan replied;

**_Nope, I’m safe.  Also, his fiancé bakes.  I might be getting brownies tomorrow._ **

**HERE I AM BEING SUPPORTIVE AND YOU TELL ME I’M MISSING OUT ON BROWNIES???**

**THE WORLD HAS NEVER KNOWN SUCH AM EVIL BOYFRIEND**

**EVIL!!!**

**_I love you_ **

**You’re not getting off that easy**

**But I love you too**

Little love hearts flying on his screen, Dan sunk back into the seat and tried to keep the dopey smile off his face.  He’d never get tired of those words.

* * *

The conversation was kept light on the way back but when they reached Jamie’s place, the nerves kicked in again.

“Don’t worry, Peter’s gonna love you.”  Jamie gave his shoulder a quick squeeze then unlocked the door.  “Babe, I’m home!  And I brought company!”

Peering around Jamie, Dan saw a shadow approaching which turned out to belong to a man that looked surprisingly normal.  Dan didn’t know what he expected, it’s not like Jamie was still wearing his wig or anything, but where Jamie was all confidence, this guy seemed to have an element of shyness to him.  It automatically Dan feel a bit calmer.   

“Hi, you must be Dan.  I’m Peter, Jamie’s fiancé.” Okay, the American accent definitely was unexpected, but Dan tried not to let it show as he shook Peter’s hand.   Barely had he let go when Peter let out a large yawn. 

“Sorry for keeping you up babe.  Me and Dan need to chat a bit but I’ll be up soon, okay?  Don’t wait up.”

“It’s fine,” Peter said, waving a hand.  “Just a long day at work.  Sorry I’m not better company.  Hopefully, we can talk a bit more tomorrow Dan.  G’night.”

“Night.”

Averting his eyes when Peter leaned in to give Jamie a kiss, he gave a short wave to the man as he headed up the stairs. 

“Right, can I get you anything to drink or eat?” Jamie asked. 

“Uh, some water would be good please.”

“Coming right up, lounge is just through the first door there.  Make yourself comfy.”

Seeing the pristine white couch upon entering, Dan was suddenly glad he’d just chosen water and even checked his jeans before he sat down. He messaged Alex a little more until Jamie returned, two glasses of water in hand.

“Here you go,” he said, offering one to Dan.  “Okay, so…do you want to tell me what led to you coming to find me?”

Dan bit his lip, wondering how he should begin.  “Well…I guess I should start off with the fact I’m pan…pansexual.  So, gender doesn’t really matter to me.  It took me a while to figure out since for a long time, I was never really interested in anyone and so it never came up in conversation.  Then, last year, we had a new kid in our school, Alex.  Alex is non-binary, which I hadn’t known much about back then, but they never made a secret of it.  Course, that made them a target.  One day, I saw some kids picking on Alex and though they were doing their best to hold them off, three against one isn’t exactly fair, you know?  I’m not the strongest guy around but I guess playing footy helped me a bit and I managed to get the other guys to leave.  Got a black eye in the process but I also got a best-friend and 6 months later, a partner.  I knew dad didn’t like Alex all that much, he never respected their pronouns, and so I thought I’d wait a bit before telling my parents about us.  A few days ago, I decided I was tired of hiding and since Alex was happy just…did it.”

Jamie winced and Dan wondered if he was thinking about when he came out to their dad.  Dan was almost tempted to ask but he figured that might be a conversation for another time.

“Dad…he didn’t say anything.  At least, not at first.  He just stood there, kind of like a statue.  Then he said, ‘I can’t do this again’ and just…stormed out.  Mum didn’t really know what to say and that’s when I asked what he meant by again and she told me about you, well, the little she knew.  I know it was right stupid of me to come all the way out here by myself but…I couldn’t go to Alex’s and I didn’t want to go home.  Seeing you…I guess I wanted to see for myself that dad left you and you turned out okay.”

“He said he’s leavin’ then?”  Jamie asked softly and Dan shrugged, trying not to show how much the idea hurt. 

“Makes sense he would, doesn’t it?  He left cos you were gay.   To him, I basically am too.  He hasn’t said a word to me since and mum just says to give him time.  He’s gonna leave.”

“Dan…, I’m not gonna lie to you and say me being gay and dressing up wasn’t a part of it but there were other issues too.  My mum and him hadn’t been happy for a long time.  At least, he hadn’t.  They’d got married too young.  And I’m not saying he won’t leave but…it’s been 16 years.  I can’t imagine he’s the same man he was back then.  Much as it pains me to say, maybe you should listen to your mum and give him a chance.  See if this time, he’s willing to listen and learn.”

Dan frowned.  “But it’s not fair then, is it?  Why should he end up being okay with me but not you?”

Jamie shrugged.  “Better he get along with one us than neither.  Anyway, I’m long since past needing anything from him myself.  Despite everything, my life has turned out pretty great and I’m sure, even if history ends up repeating itself, yours will too.  Anyway, you’ve got me now and I’ll help you any way I can.”

Though Jamie’s words threatened to bring tears to his eyes, he couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you being so nice?  You barely know me.  I’m just some kid who snuck into your show?”

Jamie smiled gently.  “You’re more than that Dan.  We might have just met but your my brother and even if you weren’t, I refuse to let you suffer just because of your sexuality and who you decide to love.  I never told you what Peter’s job is.  He’s a councillor, specifically for LGBT kids.  I know what some kids go through and I can’t just let you go off and face it alone.  I’m here to support you if you want it.”

This time, Dan couldn’t stop the tears and Jamie joined him on the sofa.  “This okay?” He asked, opening his arms, and Dan nodded before letting himself be hugged.  Yeah, maybe in the grand scheme of things this was kind of weird but he hadn’t realised how much he’d needed this kind of unconditional acceptance.  He wasn’t sure how long he spent crying against Jamie’s shoulder but his brother never complained, only offering him a tissue when he finally emerged. 

Intending to say thanks, Dan instead let out a long yawn that made Jamie laugh.  “I think it’s time you got some sleep.  Let me guess, no PJs?”

Dan flushed.  “Um…”

Still laughing, Jamie led him upstairs.  “I’ll find you something and don’t worry, I’ll keep the sparkles away.”

Dan followed Jamie to the guest room and took the offered pyjamas and toiletries.  Once they’d said their goodnights, Dan slipped into bed and texted a goodnight to Alex.  Though his nose still felt stuffed and his head fuzzy, Dan felt content.  With Alex, and now his brother, in his corner, he felt like he could face anything.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! If you did consider leaving a kudos or comment :)  
> [Also, you get brownie points if you know what Peter is from!]


End file.
